5/07/2008

Indiana's voter ID rules have almost no problems

But there were few other such incidents reported across the state, which has one of the strictest laws in the country, requiring voters to have a photo ID issued by the state or federal government. After the Supreme Court upheld the law by a 6-3 ruling last month, there was widespread speculation that the ruling could hurt Barack Obama in the primary, since he was counting on strong turnout among African American voters in inner city neighborhoods in Gary and Indianapolis where many residents lack drivers' licenses. But Obama spokesman Bill Burton said this evening that the campaign had received only scattered complaints on the voter hotline it set up to deal with problems at the polls. He credited the campaign's aggressive voter outreach effort to make sure supporters had the ID they would need. (Residents without driver's licenses can obtain free picture IDs at department of motor vehicle branches.)

Bethany Derringer, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Secretary of State's office, said the office also had not received many complaints on a hotline it set up for today's vote. She said that should not come as a surprise, given that the state's voters have had to contend with the strict law since 2005. "We've had nothing earth-shattering," she said. "We've done extensive education on this."

There was one area producing reports of voters being turned away: the state's private colleges. Under the state law, out of state students may vote, but only if they have the proper ID. Students at public colleges could use their student IDs, since those are technically "state-issued," but students at private colleges could not. Representatives with the Student PIRG New Voters Project who were stationed at three private colleges -- Notre Dame, St. Mary's College, and Butler University -- for several hours reported more than a dozen instances of students being turned away for not having proper identification. . . .